Didn't watch much of the show, but I watched enough to see that -- on the eve of 4/20, natch -- Rob Van Dam beat AJ Styles to become the new TNA champion after besting Jeff Hardy in a number-one contenders match.
Oh, and Samoa Joe is back, but I'm not sure what for.
I can tell I'm going to have to start reminding you guys that this is really no way to start a thread. (Or title and tag a thread, for that matter - at least I can fix that.)
Forfeit the game, before somebody else takes you outta the game, and puts your name to shame Cover up your face, you can't run the race The pace is too fast, you just won't last - "Points Of Authority" - Linkin Park
The opening Segment was really good in establishing what The TNA title means and really put over what the World title means. The announcers were pretty good at mentioning it too. Rob Terry is The New ShockMaster he botched a freaking military press slam and then tripped over Sting's bat hysterical. He makes Batista circa 02-03 look good. Which takes a lot of sheer incompetance and lack of talent to do that. Styles isn't exactly known for his acting but his reaction after losing the title was really good. They should have pushed The title win to Sacrifice but they're desperate. Joe was made to look like a monster in the 8 man tag but I'm not gonna get excited because Russo has dropped the ball on him time after time. I was hoping ODB and Daffney were gonna win The Knockouts Tag titles. The Jordan-Terry feud has a good chance of being the worst feud of the year. RVD winning the title was a Holy Shit moment as I figured The Match was gonna end in a dq and they would build to the Match at Sacrifice.
AJ Styles cuts a promo; RVD interrupts; Jeff Hardy interrupts; Hulk Hogan shows up and sets up a #1 Contender Match between Van Dam and Hardy, with the winner getting his shot TONIGHT.
The Beautiful People vs. Daffney and ODB: The BPs are Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich tonight. I know that Madison Rayne is the KO champ, but Sky and Von Erich? Ugh. Sky rolls up ODB after ODB gets hairspray in the eyes. Blecch.
Graves9, I gotta disagree with you -- I hope they put together another actual KO Tag Team or two before they start passing the belt around. (Where are Sarita and Wilde, anyway?)
Ric Flair wants a rematch from last night. There's a brawl and Rob Terry gets involved.
Matt Morgan offers Shannon Moore a spot as his tag team partner. Moore demurely declines, probably well aware of the fate that awaits Morgan's partners.
Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy: They run through their spots. Fairly long match -- over ten minutes. RVD wins with the 5 Star after Hardy misses the Swanton.
RVD and Hardy are still pals. Whew!
Team Hogan 2.0 vs. Team Flair: This starts with Jeff Jarrett and Sting brawling. Yawn. Desmond Wolfe, Rob Terry, Beer Money, and Abyss all eventually enter. Finally, the last new member of Team Hogan arrives -- SAMOA JOE. (This is exciting because I was SURE it was going to be Hogan.) Joe SLAUGHTERS Team Flair single-handedly, then Muscle Busts Roode for the pin.
Team Hogan celebrates -- except for Joe, who just walks off. Ha ha, that's our Joe!
AJ Styles vs. RVD: Another 10+ minute match. As you may have heard, RVD wins with another 5 Star! Styles is sad. Whoever loaded the confetti cannon knew what singlet RVD would wear tonight, I see.
I don't really have anything against RVD but I feel like he's stale -- like he's been coasting for the last decade. Eh, there are worse choices they could have made (again, Hogan), but I am by no means excited about this.
--K
(edited by Karlos the Jackal on 20.4.10 0146) Last 5 movies seen: Crazy Heart ***1/2 - 44 Inch Chest **1/2 - The Lovely Bones **1/2 - The Young Victoria *** - XXY ***
* TNA wanted something big to counter-act a thrown-together edition of Monday Night Raw
OR
* This kind of hotshotting nonsense is typical of TNA. You'd figure that a Styles/Van Dam PPV main event would've drawn some interested buys, or even holding that match off until next week could've built a decent rating. But no, they have it on the exact same show as RVD beating Hardy --- in itself a major match that could've gotten a good rating had it been announced in advance.
First thing that sprung to mind was Goldberg winning at the Georgia Dome. Sure, it worked as a piece of television and convinced a few pundits that OMG WCW is back, but ultimately it was a massive missed opportunity and just symptomatic of the problems that drove the company into the ground. TNA needs a lot more than a night of solid wrestling to become a fully functioning national promotion. And if they wanted to shock everyone, why not put the belt on Pope on Sunday and reward the paying customers?
They took an RVD/Jeff Hardy match AND an RVD title win and wasted them both on free TV? Man, like Amos said, it's reminiscent of Goldberg winning his first title, which should have sold millions on PPV and instead got hotshotted for a quickie rating that lasted about a week.
To their credit, TNA put on a fairly decent show tonight. But man, some of those booking decisions are going to bite them sooner than later.
Welcome back, Samoa Joe. Let us never speak of that hideous kidnapping angle again.
After reading Bischoff's book it makes sense. He is all about building the ratings on the TV show then people will buy the PPV and merchandise then finally house shows. TNA's business model is all about the ratings. PPV don't make them a lot of money and they are ok with that. They would rather get the ad buys and the TV exposure. Its a stepping stone process.
As for the show itself, its probably the best two hours of wrestling done this year. The only hitch was RVD and Jeff commenting on their match that was pretty terrible. The KO tag match was there since they pop the ratings and to establish the title change as well as how dominate the BP are. Morgan's promo was great and Moore is an idiot. I liked the scrolling results at the bottom of the show. RVD vs. Jeff was very good. I thought Team Flair vs. Team Hogan was better tonight then last night especially with Joe coming out to kill bitches then walking away. RVD/AJ was good not great, but the shot of RVD looking up while the confetti coming down on him was awesome. Jeff/RVD had a nice Eddie/Child Killer moment from WMXX and Team 3D holding him up was an awesome call back to their history. They did everything right with this, so I am not sure what the complaining other then its TNA and we have to hate it. It wasn't Crash TV since they used the whole two hours to explain what was going plus Pope lost fairly clean last night, so his shot at the title was gone and they needed new contenders who AJ has never faced before which RVD/Jeff qualify as. Crash TV to me is the MITB cash in or making a match in a quick promo then losing the title in that time frame.
I wanted to answer a question about the PPV and last night. I bought the PPV thought it was well worth my money with Kurt/Anderson, the X-Division matches and Pope/AJ. They also kept the Band shit short too, but lethal lockdown didn''t get good til Jeff came out. I feel like they are two different shows minus Team Flair/Team Hogan yet the participants for that match changed as well. What I paid for on Sunday is something I wanted to see and was ok paying for it. What I saw on Monday was something yeah, I would have paid for, but I am also willing to pay for the rematch as well.
I am not going to sit here and act like I know how to book a wrestling show better than the guys who run TNA by complaining that they should have put these matches on PPV. I don't buy their PPVs. So I was thrilled to see them on free TV. TNA has to build their audience, and last night was a perfect time to strike with Raw scrambling to throw something together.
To me, that was the best episode of Impact I can remember seeing in a long time. Yes, Terry is a waste of space and embarrassed himself, but the two big matches, Joe's monstrous return, and some solid promos made me excited as a REAL wrestling fan, (not as a smart fan) on Monday night, and that's something neither company has done for me in a while. And say what you will about the crowd at the Impact Zone, they were great last night.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
I think the reason Bischoff et al still have careers is because he knows how to play a certain demographic of fans like a fiddle. RVD winning the title in a hotshot angle is the perfect way of deflecting any criticism for the next coupla months. Even if the show goes back to being shit on toast there'll always be the mantra of "let's see where this is going".
And yeah kentish, I will second-guess the guys running TNA, given that they're the only wrestling bookers in North America to have driven a major international promotion into bankruptcy, and by doing the exact same things they're doing now.
One night of good TV after four months of fumbling and all sins are forgiven and TNA is on the road to salvation. If only Vince mcMahon were afforded the same kind of adulation. But he's not, and rightfully so.
Originally posted by Amos CochranI think the reason Bischoff et al still have careers is because he knows how to play a certain demographic of fans like a fiddle. RVD winning the title in a hotshot angle is the perfect way of deflecting any criticism for the next coupla months. Even if the show goes back to being shit on toast there'll always be the mantra of "let's see where this is going".
And yeah kentish, I will second-guess the guys running TNA, given that they're the only wrestling bookers in North America to have driven a major international promotion into bankruptcy, and by doing the exact same things they're doing now.
One night of good TV after four months of fumbling and all sins are forgiven and TNA is on the road to salvation. If only Vince mcMahon were afforded the same kind of adulation. But he's not, and rightfully so.
Well not really bankruptcy and if things had gone a different way and not for the whole merger Bischoff would have bough WCW and who knows what would have happened.
Originally posted by Karlos the JackalHere's a Q-n-D:
Graves9, I gotta disagree with you -- I hope they put together another actual KO Tag Team or two before they start passing the belt around. (Where are Sarita and Wilde, anyway?)
(edited by Karlos the Jackal on 20.4.10 0146)
You're right. It was just my love for Daffney talking. The BP just aren't any good without Angielina in the group. I had hoped when she came back that she would rejoin the group and Lacey would become someones valet.
Originally posted by graves9Well not really bankruptcy and if things had gone a different way and not for the whole merger Bischoff would have bough WCW and who knows what would have happened.
I'm sure it would have gone totally differently to the other two times that Bischoff ran WCW and completely fucked it up.
Originally posted by graves9Well not really bankruptcy and if things had gone a different way and not for the whole merger Bischoff would have bough WCW and who knows what would have happened.
I'm sure it would have gone totally differently to the other two times that Bischoff ran WCW and completely fucked it up.
Look Bisch deserves ridicule and everything but he did get the better of Vince McMahon for nearly two years. Name another guy that did that. Yes he fucked it all up and his first three months in TNA hasn't set the world on fire but still. Raw in 02-03 was utter utter shit. I think we agree that the WWE in 02-03 in the middle of a Triple H recession was a lot more ripe to be taken on than they are now.
It wasn't hotshoting the title. They built the enitre show around who would face AJ for the title as well as add in the importance of said title. It wasn't they had a match with no promos or one promo then gave the belt to Rob. Rob had to work his way to get that title and then win it. He also cut two promos about wanting to win the title. That is not hot shoting the title. The MITB cash in is hotshoting the title, Drew winning the IC title and so on.
TNA spent most of the night talking and working for the goal of RVD being champ. I am sorry its not the poppari of bullshit of WWE where its one segment here and there without any theme. And when TNA does do that they get shit on for being too chaotic. I also think people are missing the point of having it on free tv. TNA's business model right now is about TV. They are doing good at least for Spike in the ratings on Monday and Thursday. If they can get a bump here or there next week, why not? PPV is such a small part of their overall plan, it doesn't matter.
Amos has every right to second guess Bischoff and Co. As much I have the right to second guess all of WWE's decisions after and during Mania. I do however give credit where credit is due. WWE did a great job building towards Mania however they dropped the ball at times and HBK/Taker II once again had to save their ass for the second year in a row from the biggest PPV of year feeling like Unforgiven. I would think that TNA who had the better show of the two would be given credit, but whatever its the IWC. Its easier to be critics then to give congratulations.
I think it was Dutch Mantell who said that pretty much the entire revenue engine for TNA right now is Spike TV and that PPV is something they are obligated to do but would get out if they could. I don't know if I believe all of that (I'm sure if PPV were doing good numbers it would be different), but for the moment I guess you can assume a paradigm for TNA where they feel it is in their best interest to build the tv show, even if that is at the expense of the PPV shows. If that's the case, then this makes a certain amount of sense.
The question for TNA is what happens when you run out of shocks? Reading the results from tonight I felt like "wow, I kind of wish I had been home to watch this." But that is mostly due to the surprise factor. They've shown they can surprise. Can they make compelling tv that isn't based on OMGWTFROFLBBQ~! surprises? Only the Shadow knows.
But hey, that's for the future. For tonight I'll give them credit for what sounds like an interesting show.
(edit: piece of advice for those who want to get other people watching TNA. Bashing WWE isn't going to help your cause. I don't really watch them either. Telling me your product is less shitty than Raw doesn't get me running to the tv. Just sayin'.)
(edited by spf on 20.4.10 0854) 2007 and 2008 W-League Fantasy Football champion!